1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a connection structure between an optical element and an optical fiber, and a connection method to couple an optical element and an optical fiber.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to an optical module and an optical transmission unit including the connection structure.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently there exist tendencies of high-speed and large-amount data transmission in the information and communication technology sector so that development of optical communication technologies is in demand. In related art optical communications, an electrical signal is usually converted into an optical signal, which is transmitted through optical fibers. Then the optical signal received is converted into an electrical signal. Such a converting operation from the electrical signal to the optical signal and then from the optical signal to the electrical one is performed by optical elements. For implementation of optical communications by such a converting method, it is necessary to precisely align the optical fiber and the optical element for the purpose of reducing optical loss.
However, an optical surface (i.e., a plane of incidence or an emitting plane) of the optical element generally has a fine structure and a diameter of the optical fiber is minute in size. Therefore, accuracy is required for the alignment between the optical element and the optical fiber.